North London Food & Culture

Bread by Bike opens on Brecknock Road

But will this crowdfunded success story sell the best sourdough in the neighbourhood?

New bakery on Brecknock alert. Photo: Annie Mullins

You heard it here first. And now Bread By Bike, Kentish Town’s stylish new sourdough bakery that owes its very existence to crowdfunding, is launching this Saturday, 3rd June.

But the story starts back in January 2016, when young local Andy Strang was all set for a career as a physicist. He just needed to finish his PhD dissertation…which he was royally procrastinating by baking.

Use your loaf. Photo: Bread By Bike

Why? Because Andy was trying to work out the perfect balance for a sourdough loaf with a physicist’s attention to detail. He must have come close to it, because people couldn’t get enough: before long he was delivering every day on his bike.

By the time he had become Dr Strang, Andy knew what he wanted to do. And no prizes for guessing it wasn’t physics.


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You can eat in too. Photo: Annie Mullins

Changing careers isn’t always smooth sailing. Andy began in his tiny kitchen in north London, moved to a rented corner of a cafe in Finsbury Park (during which time he won two World Bread Awards), but that ended in December 2016, and it looked like there was nowhere to go.

Fortune came in the form of a crowdfunding campaign, intended to be a small boost, but which raised £13.3k in five weeks. Just like that, Bread By Bike had a future. Yay.

Stylish frontage. Photo: Annie Mullins

The bakery has already received support – not only from existing fans in Finsbury Park, but from its new neighbours on Brecknock Road and the baking community as a whole.

As well as loaves and other baked goods – such as cinnamon rolls – to take away, there’s a small chalked-up daily selection of brunch and lunch options (think smashed avocado or a take on shakshuka), as well as hip N7 roaster’s Vagabond coffee for the all-important caffeine hit.

“I can’t quite believe what’s happened in the past few months,” he says. “I’m so grateful to everyone who made it possible, and excited to finally be able to give something back. The number of artisan bakeries in the UK is staggeringly low, and that’s why I think people are so enthusiastic when they find real bread being baked locally. I’m thrilled to be able to share mine with the community.”

Bread By Bike’s grand opening takes place all day on 3rd June (10am-5pm) at 30 Brecknock Road N7 0DD. Follow them at @breadbybike

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